The Wrong Side of the Law
by ece23
Summary: Hutch goes undercover alone, while Starsky watches out for him, but all is not as it seems and trouble for Hutch ensues...
1. Chapter 1

_Summary: Hutch goes undercover alone, while Starsky watches out for him, but all is not as it seems and trouble for Hutch ensues. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own S&H or make any money_

Starsky and Hutchinson entered the police station still debating the outcome of the previous night's pool game. Or rather, Starsky was debating it and Hutch was trying to make him see sense.

"But Hutch, I should have won. _Technically, _I did win. Anyway, it's scientifically proven, left-handers are better at sports, so I don't even know why I need to play against you to prove that."

"Well in your case that obviously isn't true," Hutch teased.

"It is, though," he insisted, "because your average right-handed opponent doesn't expect you to be left handed and so they mess up. So there."

"I don't think that applies to pool, Starsk. It applies more to things like... table tennis." Hutch got an evil gleam in his eye, knowing that Starsky couldn't resist a bet.

"Huh. Well in that case maybe I was just blinded by all that hair of yours, blondie. If it takes a game of table tennis to prove that I'm the best, then that's what we'll have to do."

"You're on. I thought I told you not to believe everything you read in those trivia books anyway. Maybe you should try reading something a little more intellectual."

Unable to think of a response to that, Starsky settled for making a face at his partner, but Hutch just grinned. The dangerous-driver they'd caught on their way to work, who was being escorted between them and had been following the discussion as though it were a tennis match, now wore a very confused face. The pair of detectives dropped him off with a couple of other officers, then continued to their usual workplace.

They reached the doors to the squadroom and Hutch gallantly held the door open for his partner to go through first, receiving a smirk from Starsky in response, then followed him in. They were just getting coffee when the door to Dobey's office opened and the Captain peered out, searching the room. Spotting Starsky and Hutch, he called them into the office, this time yelling at Starsky before he could kick the door shut.

The pair stopped short as they realised the Captain had company; a tall, middle aged, suit-wearing man to whom Hutch took an instant dislike.

"Starsky, Hutchinson... this is Captain McCaffrey, and he's got a case you might be interested in."

Captain McCaffrey spoke. "Detectives... I do indeed have a case for you, and it will involve some undercover work, but that will only require one of you."

Starsky and Hutch looked at each other, then back at McCaffrey. "Captain, we work best together," Starsky informed him.

"I'm aware of that, but you two have a good reputation, and a good undercover record, so I'd like you to be the ones working on the case, and as I said, the undercover element will only require one of you. I'm sorry, but the orders for this come from people higher up than me. I believe Hutchinson would be best suited to the job."

"Why him, why not me?" asked Starsky, a little offended.

"No offense Starsky, but this requires someone who can appear a little more... upper-class, than you." McCaffrey smiled in a particularly annoying way.

"None taken," replied Starsky through a forced smile, not fooling anyone for a minute. Hutch was also beginning to take offense on Starsky's behalf, although he didn't mind working a case alone so much.

The man continued regardless. "There's a lawyer in the city, who we have reason to believe accepted payment from a criminal to get rid of a key witness, in order to alter the outcome of a case where he was defending that criminal. We also think there could be cops on his side who he's paying to keep quiet, and we're not sure how deep this thing goes. Hutchinson would need to go undercover working for this lawyer, maybe as an assistant, and see what he can dig up."

"I don't like it." Starsky stated.

"Starsk, you never like it. It'll be okay. I mean, there'll be safety measures in place, right?" Hutch asked McCaffrey, seeking reassurance for Starsky more than for himself.

McCaffrey quickly agreed. "Right, we can have a couple of plain-clothed officers nearby at all times to check on you, and a number you can call to check in, or if anything goes wrong."

"See, Starsk? It's okay." Hutch tried to convince him, knowing full well that Starsky would also be unofficially watching out for him.

Starsky reluctantly agreed, although he made a silent promise to Hutch that he would be looking out for him. Sometimes it seemed as though they could read each others' minds.

The next couple of hours were spent working out the details of the case, and it was decided that a contact they had should pull some strings to get Hutch a job in the firm with the suspected corrupt lawyer, where he would hopefully be in a position to collect enough evidence of any criminal activities. First Hutch had to get a fake identity, resume and references, and be told the information he would need to appear convincing in his new role.

***

That evening, over dinner, Starsky was arguing yet again. This time, he was arguing about Hutch's decision to accept the undercover mission.

"I'm your partner and I'm meant to watch your back. How can I do that if you're gonna go it alone?"

"Maybe I don't expect you to. Honestly, buddy, it'll be okay. We've done these things before."

"Yeah, and look how most of them ended up," Starsky grumbled.

"I'm sure this'll be fine. Anyway, you'll be looking out for me won't you, so how can anything go wrong?"

"Yeah, I will be, but don't tempt fate."

"Starsk, you don't really believe in fate do you?"

"Don't change the subject."

Hutch got up from the table, went into his kitchen, and retrieved two beers. Handing one to Starsky, and placing a hand on his friend's shoulder, he told him, "Shut up and drink up. It'll be fine."

Secretly Hutch was slightly nervous about the undercover work, as he always was, but he wasn't unwilling to carry out the work. He also expected that Starsky was more worried than he was; Hutch knew he'd be the same if it was Starsky going into an undercover case alone and without immediate backup.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

A week later, Hutch was suitably prepared for the case, and drove towards the location of his undercover job in a borrowed, inconspicuous car. He now had the name for his undercover persona; he had chosen to keep his own initials and make things simpler, so he was now named Keith Harris.

Starsky had made him promise to be careful the night before, and as he left Hutch, he had simply said, "See ya." They wouldn't be able to see each other for some time now, in case anyone from Hutch's undercover workplace happened to follow him.

After much argument between Starsky and Captain McCaffrey, Starsky was now one of the officers who would watch the building Hutch was in from a car outside, along with another young officer named Dave Johnson. Dobey had backed Starsky up, and told McCaffrey how much better his detectives worked if they were able to work together, and so McCaffrey had reluctantly agreed to the present arrangement. Everyone had agreed that Starsky's car was not the best vehicle to use for the job, much to Starsky's disappointment, and so they too would be using a borrowed, inconspicuous brown car.

Starsky and Johnson were in place already by the time Hutch got there, parked in a side street just across from the building. Hutch felt a lot better knowing that Starsky was there and not some unknown officer who wouldn't be looking out for him as much as Starsky would.

Hutch casually made his way into the building, and after reporting to the front desk, as his undercover persona, he was shown to the office where he would be working by a friendly, smiling young woman.

"This will be your desk Mr Harris, and you'll be working with Mr Keene. He'll be out to see you in a moment."

Sure enough, a moment later the door to another room opened and out came the enemy. He greeted Hutch with a handshake, then immediately gave him some paperwork.

Hutch was hoping for an opportunity to look inside that man's office and see if he could find any information, although he suspected that anything incriminating would not be kept in plain view, and also that this man was unlikely to go out and leave his office easily accessible. He would have to be patient.

Outside, Starsky was still waiting in the car, staring silently at the building. Since the other officer who was with him didn't seem inclined to make small talk either, this was going to be a dull wait, but Starsky wouldn't have wanted to be doing anything else if he couldn't be the one to carry out the undercover mission. He didn't know why the other young officer was silent, although if Starsky had spoken to the man, he would have discovered it was shyness.

The work that Keene had given Hutch lasted him several hours. Luckily it was simple work that didn't require him to use a lot of brain power, meaning he could be thinking about the case and watching out for his opportunity.

The opportunity came quicker than he thought, as Keene announced that he had an appointment that afternoon and would be out of the office for a couple of hours.

Hutch was amazed that this man would go out and leave his office open when he hadn't even known Hutch for a day. Why would he leave his things exposed like that? Still, Hutch wasn't going to waste this opportunity, and he quickly slipped into the man's office, pushing the door to behind him.

It briefly crossed his mind that this could be a test of his trustworthiness, or even a trap, but he had to take that chance – he didn't know if he'd get another.

The places that seemed most obvious to him were the locked drawers of the desk, and operating on instinct, he decided on trying the bottom drawer first. Searching for, and finding, a suitable implement, he managed to use his skills and pick the lock surprisingly easily, and he pulled out a paper with names, addresses and phone numbers on it. One of the names had a mark beside it. Beneath the papers was hidden a box, and on opening it, he discovered a bunch of cash. Deciding that this was probably important, he folded the paper and stuffed it in his pocket, then closed the drawer again. Hopefully no one would notice that anything had moved until he was safely out of here and had that evidence in the hands of the police.

The next task was to call the number that McCaffrey had given him, which he was supposed to call in the event that he was in trouble or had found out something relevant to the case, and reported to the captain what he had found. McCaffrey sounded very interested in what the results of Hutch's search, and instructed him to leave the building as soon as possible and meet up with him, in a prearranged safe location, where he could hand over the papers. Hutch agreed, and put down his phone.

Replacing the phone he had just used to speak to Hutch on its base, McCaffrey looked over at Keene and smiled. "I think it's time we removed this nuisance."

Keene smiled back. "My people know what to do."

***

Starsky had seen Keene leave the building, and hoped Hutch was able to use this time to get the evidence he needed as quickly as possible and get out of there. Glancing over at Johnson, he saw a look of nervousness on the other officer's face.

***

Hutch started to make his way to the door, checking that the papers were still in his pocket. He was surprised to see, in the doorway, the friendly girl who had shown him to his desk that morning. Her smile was no longer friendly, it was chilling.

"Keith... or Ken... leaving us so soon?"

Hutch didn't see the paperweight that she swung at his head until it was too late.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Starsky and Johnson were still watching the building in silence, and Keene still hadn't returned. Starsky was suspicious and worried, but also starting to feel the tedium of hours sitting in a car with someone who was disinclined to make conversation. Eventually, Starsky decided to try and begin a conversation with the young man beside him.

"Long day, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Johnson replied nervously.

No conversation there then. Starsky had another idea, although he wasn't sure it was a good one.

"Hey, why don't I go get us some coffee or something? You can watch things here, right?"

"Yeah, sure. Thanks."

Starsky nodded and exited the car. "Okay, I'll only be a minute." It was good to be in the fresh air after so long sitting in a car staring at the building, and although he felt that he shouldn't be leaving, he wasn't going to be long, he reasoned with himself, and Johnson was perfectly capable of watching a building.

Meanwhile, Johnson was still staring at the building as if his life depended on it. As he thought about it, he realised that his life may well depend on it: if anything happened to Hutch, Starsky may not let him live long enough to worry about it. He almost wished Starsky hadn't left the car.

As if someone had heard his thoughts and decided to make the worst possible thing happen, he saw the doors at the front of the building open, and what looked like an unconscious Hutch being quickly stuffed into a car that was parked outside the building. For a moment he was caught between finding Starsky, or intervening himself, but realising that he couldn't see Starsky and wasn't sure where he'd gone, or how far he'd gone, the best option was to follow the car – maybe he'd see where they took Hutch and then call Starsky, and he couldn't just sit here and do nothing, or waste time searching for Starsky, when Hutch was very obviously in danger. Making his decision, he started up the car and quickly followed, making sure to keep to a distance where he would not be noticed.

Starsky was somewhat surprised and confused when he returned to where the car had been and found that it was nowhere in sight. Quickly realising that something must have happened while he was gone, and that he didn't know where Johnson was now, he started to make his way back to the police station as fast as possible. If the car was gone, Hutch must be in trouble. He knew he shouldn't have left, and he knew this mission wasn't going to go well.

***

Starsky burst into Dobey's office half an hour later and to his surprise, he found Johnson in there, apparently waiting for him.

"Cap... what the hell is going on?" he asked, out of breath, before Dobey could yell at him for entering without knocking.

Johnson spoke up, reassured by Dobey's presence. "I'm so sorry Sergeant... I lost him."

Starsky's voice took on a dangerous tone. "What do you mean – lost him?"

Dobey took over. "The man means he lost Hutch, Starsky. He saw someone drag him out of the building and into a car. He followed the car out of the city, but they were a good driver whoever they were, and he lost them."

"Did you get the registration number?" Starsky demanded. As Johnson nodded, Starsky turned to Dobey. "We gotta get an APB out!"

"Do you think I didn't think of that myself?" Dobey snapped, as worried as Starsky was.

"No... sorry Cap." Starsky looked at the ground.

"All right," Dobey continued gruffly. "Now, we know where we last saw the car, and we've got other units out looking for it. Hutch isn't stupid, Starsky. He can take care of himself until we find him."

"I hope so – but we don't know what they're gonna do with him."

Johnson looked at the floor, and Starsky almost felt a pang of sympathy for him, although he would have liked to berate the man for his stupidity in losing Hutch. Didn't he know how important the blond man was? It wasn't really his fault though. "Don't worry, kid," he told the young man, "you did your best. I shouldn't have left. But hey, even if I hadn't, we'd probably still be where we are now." He didn't know if that was true, but it seemed like the best thing to say.

Dobey spoke again. "Now Starsky – you said you saw the lawyer Keene leave the building a couple of hours ago."

"Yeah..."

"It's likely that whatever they did to Hutch was planned, and maybe they've taken Hutch to wherever Keene is."

"Yeah – but how did they find out who he was so quickly? Someone must have blown his cover."

"That's what we've got to find out."

***

At an abandoned ranch outside the city, Hutch was on the floor of a barn, still unconscious, surrounded by McCaffrey, Keene and the man who had driven him there.

McCaffrey spoke to the driver. "Okay, Jon, when he wakes up, you can have some fun. Teach our friend Ken a lesson, then we'll dump him somewhere. He isn't going to live to tell anyone anything, anyway."

Jon grinned cruelly. Although he wore a suit like the other two men, his appearance was meaner, and Keene knew he had a cruel streak, which was one of the reasons he was so good for this task.

McCaffrey, meanwhile, was pleased by the way things were going. It hadn't been his idea to put these two detectives on the case, but now that they were, at least he was in the process of eliminating one threat. Hutchinson had found the incriminating papers in Keene's office, but McCaffrey could still survive without what he had done being noticed, if he was careful, and hopefully soon he would remove the second threat. He felt slightly sorry for them.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Hutch woke up, and the first thing he felt was confusion. _Why am I on the floor? And for that matter, whose floor is this?" _The second thing he felt, after trying to sit up, was the headache. _Oh yeah. _

Hearing the groan, and seeing that he was awake, Jon came over and peered down at him. "Good... you're awake. You need to be awake to learn your lesson."

_Oh, that doesn't sound good. Where's Starsky?_

Jon roughly dragged Hutch upright, causing his head to scream at him that it was going to explode. He stayed silent, however, not giving this idiot the satisfaction of making any more sound.

Jon knew that the bravado wouldn't last. Not when the cop had really learned his lesson. He picked up a loose plank of wood that had fallen from the side of the barn and looked at Hutch as if considering where the best place to start was. That was exactly what he was doing.

He went for the ribs first. _So imaginative, _Hutch sneered in his head. Jon swung the plank hard and Hutch felt the crack of at least one rib giving way. The pain took his breath away, and he instinctively curled up.

_Starsky..._

Jon grinned. "Isn't that sweet," he mocked, "he calls for his partner. What's the matter, is mean Jon hurting you?"

Hutch hadn't realised he'd said the name out loud. He wanted to scream at the idiot "Yes, you moron, now let me go!" but he restrained himself. His headache didn't want him to scream anyway, and he probably didn't have the breath for it.

The moron came at him again with the plank, and this time he had no problem finding a target, being content to beat any part of Hutch's body that he could see. At first Hutch settled for curling up and protecting the most important parts of himself with his arms, but Jon was relentless. He tried his best to stay quiet as the hits landed on him, but eventually it was too much. _How much am I supposed to take? _ His ribs and head were killing him, and Jon had moved on to the rest of him with his plank. He couldn't stop himself crying out, and cursing, sometimes trying to hit back, but nothing stopped his attacker. He hadn't really expected it to, but it felt better to insult the man hitting him than to do nothing. Meanwhile, he really hoped Starsky was looking for him.

After half an hour, Jon had tired himself out, and finally paused in his beating. Hutch was trying to determine how much of himself still worked, just in case the opportunity to escape should arise, although right now he wasn't very hopeful about his chances, given that every movement hurt like hell.

He was confirmed in his suspicion that he wouldn't escape when Keene and McCaffrey returned.

"That'll do for now Jon," Keene informed the man.

"Hello Ken," said McCaffrey, "we're going to take you for a ride now. Hope you don't mind."

"What if I did mind?" asked Hutch, trying to show some defiance, for what it was worth, as he barely recognised his own voice.

"I'm afraid you don't get a say in it."

At a gesture from McCaffrey, Keene and Jon dragged Hutch to his feet, ignoring the groan this caused. _Damn it, Starsk, I really could use you now, _Hutch thought. He hated having to lean on the bad guys. Still, they were the ones that got him into this mess, so it was their problem.

McCaffrey nodded at Jon. "Take care of it."

They dragged him to a car again and shoved him into the back seat, not caring how much they hurt him.

"Where are we going?" Hutch asked the bad guys.

Jon, who was in the back seat with him, elbowed him in the ribs, making him gasp with pain. "You don't need to know that."

Hutch wanted to try to watch the landscape going past to figure out where they were going, but it was hard to focus on anything, and watching everything flash past was making him dizzy.

***

Around half an hour later, the car stopped and Jon jumped out, running round to Hutch's side. He pulled the door open and dragged Hutch out, depositing him on the ground. "Well, cop, this is the end of the journey for you. I would say see ya, but I won't, because you'll be dead." Jon got back in the car, leaving Hutch alone, and in the middle of nowhere.

Keene spoke to his accomplice, "Jon, we're supposed to kill him."

"Yeah, but he's gonna die out here anyway, isn't he? Why not make it a little more fun for him?"

"You really are a cruel man, Jon," Keene informed the other man, but made no further move to disagree with him, and drove the car away.

Hutch tried to move at first, to stand up or even sit up, but it hurt too much and was impossible, so he settled for lying back on the cold ground. He did notice that he was no longer on a road; they must have driven the car off the road to make things more "interesting" for him. He could be here for days before anyone found him, if they found him at all. _Maybe it'll be okay in a few hours, after I sleep. Or maybe... Starsky... _His thoughts trailed off, and he passed out.

***

Jon was gloating to Keene about their victory. "It'll be fine now – he'll never make it back from there. All kinds of things could get him. Cold, dehydration, snakes..."

"I hope you're right. Maybe we should just go back and shoot him."

"Aw, no, we're almost home now. Anyway, McCaffrey told us to take care of it and we did."

"I suppose you're right. You were quite thorough in teaching him his lesson. He doesn't have much chance of finding his way back from there, and it'll be dark soon."

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

It was dark when Hutch woke up, and also freezing cold. Consciousness came back to him slowly, and as it did so, details about his situation began to filter through to him. The headache was still there, although it had subsided some. He was shivering, and it hurt. He was on the ground. Moonlight was shining in his face. He appeared to be in the middle of nowhere. With effort, he raised his head to look around him, and saw vast expanses of dust and wasteland stretching either side of him, with little sign of civilisation, although he did spot what seemed to be a road in the distance.

Figuring that if he could get to the road, that would be the best way back, he decided to try to head for it. This was easier said than done, as he tried to force his body to move. It didn't want to obey the orders that his mind was screaming at it; those morons had wanted to make sure he wouldn't make it back home. They had underestimated him though, he thought, because eventually he made his way to his knees and then his feet, although he immediately staggered. Getting up hadn't been as hard as it could have been, but staying there was the problem. Jon and his plank of wood had done some serious damage, then. Reaching down, he could feel a swelling on his left knee, as well as several large bruises in other places, and the cracked ribs.

As he looked around him again, the road seemed much further away than it had before. _Okay, one step at a time, _he told himself. It did become slightly easier as he went on, so long as he didn't think too much. After some time, he did make it to the road, then hesitated as to which way to turn. He would have liked to remember in which direction he had come along this road, but there had been other things on his mind at the time, and now he was going to have to make an educated guess, or failing that, just a guess. He looked at the stars, although without knowing where he was, they weren't much help, made his educated guess that he should head west, and started walking, or rather, limping. Looking at the stars made him think of Starsky, and he started to remember their numerous camping trips, where Starsky would usually manage to complain loudly about nature. This was certainly more nature than he would submit Starsky to, and he almost laughed at the thought of what Starsky would say about this place. _At least if we were camping here we'd have plenty of time to see any animals coming, _thought Hutch.

He could tell he wasn't going to get very far anytime soon, and so he tried to keep his mind occupied with thoughts that weren't about how everything hurt. He should think about the case, that was it. So now he knew who was behind all this, but why?

Maybe... if Keene had been bribed, and McCaffrey was on his side, then he must know the details of whatever crime Keene had committed and know what the evidence was already. And yet he'd never said anything, so he probably had a reason for that. Hadn't he said, when all this started, that there could be cops in on the crime? And now McCaffrey had tried to kill him... and did that mean he was going to kill Starsky too? And some of Keene's employees were obviously in on it too. These thoughts were confusing him and making his brain hurt, but he didn't have any better ideas. If he ever made it back, Starsky could explain it for him.

This road was really more of a track than a road, filled with bumps and holes, and in the dark it was hard to see where they were, which wasn't making this journey any easier. He lost count of how many times he tripped over things, and in his current state, tripping wasn't really something he wanted to do. He also lost count of how many times he ended up on the cold ground, and it was taking longer each time to force himself back up and keep walking. Wouldn't it be nice if Starsky showed up now to help him get back? Even if he did drive a striped tomato, Hutch would get in it without complaining.

That brought him to the next point of confusion. Why hadn't Starsky and that other cop saved him? They must have seen something. Hutch snorted – knowing Starsky, he'd probably been 'starved' and gone to find a burrito. It was all odd though – this mission had been doomed before it had been started.

After what felt like days but was probably a couple of hours, a speck of light appeared in the distance, and Hutch was filled with hope. A payphone would be a really welcome sight right now, although he didn't have any change on him. Maybe he could borrow some though. The speck of light gradually grew and it became clear it was a bar. However, from the numerous motorbikes parked outside, and the loud music and raucous laughter from inside, he doubted he would get any help there. Even if they had a phone inside, he wasn't about to go in and ask for it, knowing that this was not the sort of place you wanted to find yourself in without backup. He knew that the bikers could be harmless, but these ones were large, in a big group, and drunk. He briefly considered stealing a motorbike in the name of police business, but reasoned that it probably wasn't a great idea right now.

_Damn, but it's cold out here, _his brain complained. He was wearing no jacket over the outfit he'd worn when he went into the law building, only trousers and a thin shirt. All the beating he'd taken, followed by the staggering around, had made him thirsty too. And he didn't even know if he was walking in the right direction. _How could things get any worse? _he asked himself, suddenly realising it was a stupid thing to ask. What had Starsky said earlier about not tempting fate? He tried as quickly as he could to put as much distance as he could between himself and the bar, which wasn't very quickly.

As if fate had heard him and decided to be tempted, the sound of a car approaching from behind came to him. There was a chance that a perfectly friendly, helpful person was driving that car, but then, considering his luck, there was a greater chance that they weren't. His worry increased as the sound of the engine became louder until it was right behind him, and then quieted as it stopped, also right behind him. _Damn it._

"What's a pretty boy like you doing out here all alone at night?" It was a man's voice, and it sounded somewhat menacing.

_This is not happening. It's a bad dream and Starsky's gonna wake me up in a minute and tell me it's his turn to sleep. _

"I asked you a question Blondie!"

"Yeah, but uh... I gotta run, my partner's waiting for me."

"You don't look like you're running anywhere. Why don't you let me give you a lift?" The car was creeping along next to him now.

"No, really, I'm fine, thanks." _God knows what kind of weirdo this guy is._

"Sure you are..."

Hutch wasn't in any mood to tolerate this. He pulled out his concealed badge. "Police, back off, _buddy._"

"Okay, okay..." the guy drove off and Hutch sighed with relief. Sighing wasn't a great idea and he held his arm to his ribs. His relief that the guy had gone was short lived when he thought about his situation again. Maybe he should have just gone along with the guy to get a lift some way along the road. _What next_, he thought sarcastically, although he didn't know why he was being sarcastic with himself, _rattlesnakes? _He thought of his wildlife-hating partner again and inwardly smiled at the thought of him, and then listened, half-expecting to hear a rattle, although there was silence, for now.

The landscape was changing now as he continued to limp towards where he hoped home was. Trees were appearing either side of the road, and he hoped that was a sign that he was nearing civilisation.

He wondered how long it was going to take him to get somewhere, or even if he would make it anywhere. It was the middle of the night now, but there was no chance of sleeping. Even if he had wanted to sleep out in the open on cold ground, the various injuries caused by the bad guys probably wouldn't make it easy. His best chance was to keep going and hope that he either made it somewhere, or that Starsky found him soon. He didn't want to think about alternatives.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Starsky was by now frantic with worry over his blond partner, and as if that wasn't bad enough, he was also coming down with a cold. He'd asked all the snitches he could think of to listen out for any word of where Hutch might be, tried searching the city himself, asked other employees from the law building – who denied any knowledge of events – with no luck so far. Now many hours had passed, and Hutch could be anywhere – he could be alone, hurt, freezing to death, trapped. He refused to acknowledge that the guys had possibly simply killed Hutch, although he had no logical reason to believe that they hadn't.

Keene's employees had been taken in for questioning, including Jon, whom Johnson had been able to identify as one of the men who'd taken Hutch off in the car, but although other officers were searching, none had found Keene or the car yet, and Jon was staying silent.

The best plan Starsky had now was to take Johnson, get him to show him the last place he'd seen the car that Hutch had been taken in, and then search around that area. It was a huge area and a slim chance of finding anything, but it was the best plan he could think of, and it was better to be physically doing something than to be worrying while doing nothing useful.

***

In McCaffrey's opinion, Starsky had been doing nothing but charge around looking for ways to find Hutch, with the help of Dobey and Johnson, and he was getting sick of it. However, he had to hold out and see his plan to the end, otherwise things would start to go wrong. He hadn't yet had the right opportunity to silence Starsky. He could, however, still try to discourage Starsky from trying to find his partner; that would make things much easier in the end.

That was when McCaffrey had an idea that would make things simpler. Calling Starsky into an empty room, he put on his best sympathetic voice and told him, "Starsky, I'm sorry, but I feel I have to tell you this."

Starsky didn't like where this was going. "What is it?"

"Hutchinson is probably dead."

That was not what Starsky wanted to hear. "What?" he whispered. It seemed that was all he could say. Without knowing how he'd got there, he was now sitting on the desk. "How-how would you know?" he stammered, unable to believe him.

"Those men are ruthless. Keene and his accomplices. I can't imagine that when they found out who he was, they would have let him get away with it, you know?"

Starsky was becoming angrier now that his surprise had worn off, and slammed his fist down on the desk. "And how did they find out who he was, huh? They knew way too soon! Can you answer that? You told us there'd be safety measures! He didn't have a chance!"

"Starsky, please, calm down."

"You want me to calm down when you tell me my partner's gone who-knows-where, probably dead?" He was clenching his fists so tightly it was starting to hurt where his nails dug into his palms.

"Starsky, I'll ask you one more time: calm down, and accept it." The harsh tone with which this was spoken made Starsky suspicious, and something clicked into place in his mind. However, he still wasn't sure what was going on, so he simply gave McCaffrey a glare containing all the anger and loathing he could put into it, and left the room, banging the door behind him.

Something wasn't right; he wasn't sure what, but after years working as a cop, he had learnt to trust his instincts. Starsky was sure Hutch couldn't be dead, and yet McCaffrey seemed determined to persuade him that he was. Why did that matter to him so much? And how did he know what kind of men Keene and his accomplices were?

Starsky's next stop was Dobey's office, where he did knock on the door this time. Hearing Dobey's bellow, he entered the room and told Dobey what McCaffrey had just said. Dobey couldn't believe it either, and still condoned Starsky's plan to take Johnson and look for Hutch. By now it was clear to him that something suspicious was going on with McCaffrey, and Dobey didn't like him any more than Starsky did.

When Starsky thought about it, McCaffrey hadn't exactly been helping their efforts to find Hutch, it had been more like he was hindering them. He had also been disappearing for hours at a time. Starsky was now even more sure that he should continue with his original plan.

Starsky ran out of the station, grabbing Johnson on his way, and headed for the Torino. "Johnson! Show me where you were when you lost the car," Starsky ordered as he sped away from the police station. Johnson seemed to have lost some of his shyness at the prospect of being useful, and he efficiently directed Starsky to the intersection where he'd lost them.

From the intersection, Starsky acted on a hunch and turned left, towards the area that looked the most desolate.

He drove along a quiet, narrow road for several minutes until he came upon a ranch. There was no other sign of civilisation in the vicinity, and the area was quiet. Feeling a suspicion that this place could be important, he stopped the car and got out, motioning to Johnson to follow him. Guns drawn, just in case, they headed for the house first, banging on the door while cautiously standing just to the side of it. On receiving no answer, they decided to investigate the rest of the place.

They were becoming more cautious now, and moved more quietly, as they headed for the second building; the barn. Starsky and Johnson took positions on opposite sides of the door, before Starsky moved round and kicked the door open, and Johnson headed in. The barn was empty. Starsky entered too as Johnson signalled to him that it was clear, and saw that the barn had nothing to inspire much interest. He walked further in, looking around him, hoping to see anything that would give him a clue as to how to find his partner. Suddenly, his sharp eyesight gave him just that: Hutch's distinctive moon and stars necklace lay in some old straw on the floor of the barn. Starsky slowly bent down and picked it up, holding it gently in his hand. His fingers closed around it, and Johnson looked at him questioningly.

"Hutch was here," Starsky said slowly. Johnson stared at him, and Starsky could practically hear him thinking.

Suddenly another voice came to them. "Well done, indeed he was here. But you boys have interfered enough, and it's time you stopped working on this case... or any case."

"Captain McCaffrey?" asked Johnson in disbelief. Realisation dawned on him that things were not what they had appeared to be. "He must have followed us here."

"Jonhson, get down!" yelled Starsky suddenly, seeing that McCaffrey had raised his gun. He shoved Johnson behind an old trailer, flinging himself down too, as McCaffrey fired off his first shot. Starsky hissed with pain as the bullet grazed his arm before he could get completely behind the cover, then lifted his own gun.

Johnson edged over to Starsky and, taking a handkerchief out of his pocket, he made his best attempt at stopping the blood with it. Starsky nodded in thanks, and continued staring in the direction of the danger.

McCaffrey was shielded by a number of straw bales on the other side of the barn, and Starsky knew this was going to be difficult.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Starsky crept towards the edge of the trailer, gesturing to Johnson to do the same on the other side, and peered around the edge, wondering if he could get a shot at McCaffrey from here. The bales weren't that great as cover, and there was a chance that if he was careful, and extremely lucky, he could hit the guy and take him down with one shot. However, the angle was better from where Johnson was, and he wished he'd taken that side. His own cover wasn't great either.

He cautiously brought his gun up, trying not to make any sudden moves. Suddenly, unexpectedly, he sneezed, and McCaffrey targeted the source of the sound, emerging slightly from cover to fire in Starsky's direction. Starsky instinctively lifted his gun again to fire back, but was stopped as he heard Johnson's gun fire to his right, and watched in surprise as McCaffrey staggered, grabbing his shoulder and dropping his gun. Seizing his chance, Starsky ran over and snatched up the gun, then turned to McCaffrey. Starsky's voice was cold and angry as he sarcastically told the man his rights and roughly cuffed him to the trailer by one wrist.

He looked over at Johnson, who appeared to be staring at his own gun in surprise. Starsky made himself smile at the young officer, keeping the worry he was still feeling off his face. "You did good Johnson."

"Thanks, Sergeant," he replied, smiling back.

"Now, go to the car and call this in; tell them what happened and that we need backup."

Johnson nodded and left, and Starsky wandered to the door, clutching Hutch's necklace in his left hand, and looked into the distance in despair. _Where is he? _He looked back at McCaffrey. _That_ _bastard must know._

McCaffrey simply glared back at him, and Starsky couldn't control his anger any more. Swiftly moving over to the other man, Starsky grabbed him and slammed him roughly against the trailer. "Where's my partner?!"

Starsky could tell he was hurting McCaffrey, and he didn't care. This man had been partly responsible for whatever had happened to Hutch, and that was unacceptable.

"I don't know where he is now," McCaffrey gasped, "he's probably dead." Starsky let go of him and turned away in disgust, stalking back over to the door of the barn and glaring out. Just at that moment, unbelievably, a familiar blond head appeared in the distance, some way along the road that ran from this ranch, travelling towards him. Starsky would know that person anywhere, and he stared for a second, before he took off running towards him. As he got closer, he could see that Hutch looked terrible; his face was covered in bruises, he was barely upright, his clothes were torn, and through the torn shirt even more bruises were visible. His relief that Hutch was alive, though, was huge, and he sped up to get to him quicker.

As he reached Hutch, Starsky stopped in front of him, then simply grinned and held out his arms. Hutch promptly and gratefully fell into them. From Starsky's shoulder came his muffled voice, "Hey Starsk... got any aspirin?"

Starsky laughed. "Hey Hutch - what took you so long?"

Hutch started to laugh himself, then changed his mind. "Don't make me laugh. Hurts."

Releasing Hutch from the hug, but keeping a hand on his arm, Starsky became serious again. He could do a good mother-hen impression himself when he had to. "Okay. Listen, backup's on the way. Let's get you out of here, huh?"

Hutch nodded, not wanting to protest, and let Starsky help him to the car. He found, though, that somehow with Starsky here, it didn't hurt so much now.

He could tell that Starsky was hoping for an explanation, so he did his best. "I think they were onto us before we even started-"

Starsky interrupted with, "Yeah...McCaffrey. He was never on our side. He must have put us on the case on purpose, and then tried to get rid of us both, to cover himself."

"We're such good cops, he just can't stand to have us around, making him look bad," Hutch joked.

Starsky smiled and wrapped his arm tighter around Hutch.

"So he was behind it all?" Hutch continued, looking back towards where McCaffrey was being loaded into the other police car.

"Yeah... looks like it. He just tried to kill me too. But he's gonna get what he deserves now, and hopefully he can tell us where Keene went so he can get what he deserves too. Hey – what happened to you? Local wildlife get you?"

"Huh - you could call it that. You didn't see the guy that did it." Hutch stumbled and Starsky instinctively grabbed him tighter, loosening his grip guiltily when he felt Hutch wince. He realised that in his relief at seeing his partner alive, he'd almost forgotten the damage that had been done. He was going to have to get Hutch to tell him the whole story later, but that could wait. He pushed his anger at what had been done to Hutch to the back of his mind.

They reached the car, and Starsky opened the passenger door for Hutch, holding his arm gently while he got in. He watched as the backup arrived, before Hutch's voice brought his attention back.

"Starsk? I don't suppose you got any water?"

Starsky looked helplessly at the inside of his car. "No... sorry."

"S'okay. I waited this long, I can wait a little longer."

Starsky smiled apologetically, then stepped back from the car. "Hey, Hutch? I'll be right back," he promised, and jogged over to the other officers.

"McCaffrey's in there," he told them, pointing at the barn. "You'll need this. I'm gonna get my partner out of here." He handed them the key to his handcuffs, then headed back to his car, sliding into the driving seat. Hutch appeared to have fallen asleep against the passenger door, but he opened his eyes as Starsky entered.

"Your door's hard," he informed Starsky.

"Metal usually is. Come here," Starsky gestured to Hutch to slide over, which he did. Hutch had obviously been walking for hours, and he'd been out there alone all night.

Hutch frowned, looking at Starsky's arm. "Hey, can you drive with that arm?"

Starsky smiled; nothing escaped Hutch's attention. "Yeah, it's just a scrape, it's not serious."

"Hm...okay. Get it checked out though." He leaned more against Starsky, closing his eyes again, and Starsky wrapped an arm around his shoulders before driving off, as gently as he could.

"Hey, Hutch? I know they brought you here. I found your necklace. Is this where they did... this?" he gestured at the bruises.

"Yeah – but then, after that, they left me out there." He waved a hand in the direction he had come from. "I had to walk back. They didn't think I would."

Hutch's voice was sleepy, and Starsky glanced down at him. "Okay. Let's just get away from here, partner."

He drove in silence after that, thinking about this case, and what he already knew. McCaffrey had put them on a case to gather evidence against a corrupt lawyer. He had then gone and informed the lawyer what would be happening, so that Hutch had never had a chance. It was bad luck that Johnson hadn't been able to follow the car they'd taken Hutch in, presumably to give him a beating and leave him to die, from the looks of him. With Hutch out the way, McCaffrey had then followed and tried to kill Starsky. So the orders for the case must have come from someone higher than McCaffrey, who then must have put them on the case so as to appear to be doing his duty, but tried to kill them so that his criminal activities, whatever they were, could continue to go unnoticed. There must be some kind of arrangement between McCaffrey and that lawyer. He was going to have to question the guy himself later, and he was going to have to call Dobey, and get Hutch to tell him the whole story of what happened to him.

As they arrived at the hospital, Starsky thought, before turning his attention to Hutch, that he was dreading writing the report.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Starsky switched off the engine and turned his attention to Hutch, speaking softly to him. "Hey, buddy. We're here."

Hutch stirred and opened his eyes, blinking at Starsky for a moment before remembering where he was and what was happening. He squeezed his eyes shut again as his mind registered the injuries once more, and Starsky noticed.

"Sit tight, partner, and I'll get some help," he told Hutch, making a move to get out of the car.

Hutch grabbed for his arm. "Wait."

Starsky obediently sat back down, waiting for Hutch to speak again.

"Don't need to get help. I'll walk in."

Starsky laughed softly. "Hutch, even if you can, don't you think you walked far enough lately?"

Hutch had to smile at that, and reluctantly agreed. Here with Starsky, where he was safe, all his adrenaline and energy from the last couple of days seemed to have worn off, and he had to admit that help would be good.

***

Inside, Starsky paced the waiting area impatiently while Hutch was seen to. He had reluctantly had the graze on his arm checked out, and now he had to wait for Hutch. He'd been in this position more times than he could count but it never got any easier, and especially not while one of the guys responsible for what had happened to Hutch was still out there, for all he knew. He was the only person waiting, but a glance at his watch explained why.

He had called Dobey to let him know the new developments, and he had people working on the case now. Needless to say, Dobey had not been pleased with these developments, but he was as pleased as Starsky was that Hutch was alright, and promised to come and check on him later.

This waiting was giving Starsky time to be angry, as worried as he was, and he would have liked to be out there helping with the case himself, but right now he had to stay with Hutch and that was more important to him. He could still think, though, and the more he thought the more annoyed he became with recent events.

Fortunately a nurse came to him before he could drive himself mad with the thoughts, and informed him that the doctor had finished with Hutch, and that he could enter the room now.

Starsky didn't need telling twice, and thanking her quickly, he brushed past her on his way into the room.

"Hey, blondie," he greeted his friend, taking in again all the numerous cuts and bruises Hutch had sustained, as he approached the bed.

"Hey Starsk." Hutch was looking slightly happier after the painkillers. "You okay?"

"You got that the wrong way round, dumb blond," Starsky smiled, "I'm okay, are _you _okay?"

Dobey entered the room, cutting off the banter before it began, and approached Starsky. "Starsky, Hutch," he greeted them. "We got Keene," he informed the detectives with pleasure. "McCaffrey told us everything."

Starsky stared at him in surprise. "He did?"

"Yeah. Turns out he knew what Keene did, but Keene paid him to stay quiet, years ago. McCaffrey had money trouble and he accepted Keene's offer."

Hutch was confused. "Hold on, what did he do?"

"Keene arranged to get rid of a witness for a case he was on, some time ago, and McCaffrey had investigated it before. Obviously he must have found out something, but Keene had paid him not to say anything and he took it."

"I can understand that, but why try to kill us?"

"I guess the stress made him act odd. He didn't want to be found out. He'd been ordered to put someone on the case, and he picked you two so as he looked like he was trying to get it solved, then thought that by getting rid of you he'd get rid of the people who knew about the evidence of the crime."

"I see, he had to get rid of us because we're the best detectives?" Starsky asked innocently. Hutch smirked.

"Don't push it."

The three filled each other in on what each had missed over the last couple of days, and eventually Dobey looked at his watch. "I better get going. You," he pointed at Starsky, "make sure he does as he's told."

"Yes, Cap'n," answered Starsky, with a mock salute.

As soon as Dobey left the room, Hutch spoke. "Do you think anyone would notice if we got out of here?"

"No one would notice if _I _got out of here. You ain't going anywhere."

"But I don't wanna stay here. Besides, the plants need watering."

Starsky sighed dramatically. "Fine, I'll make a deal, you stay here tonight and I'll help you escape tomorrow. But if we get caught, I'm blaming you." Chances were he would be released tomorrow anyway.

"No one's gonna believe I'm guilty. I'm the one that got hurt, remember?"

"Hey, I got a cold," Starsky sniffed, "I'll say _you_ took advantage of _me_."

***

Starsky was made to leave by the nurses that night, although he promised to be back first thing in the morning. If Hutch hadn't wanted him to leave, no amount of nurses could have made him go, but Hutch had also encouraged him to go home and sleep, which didn't seem to be a bad idea.

***

The next morning, Starsky had returned as early as he could possibly be allowed in, and Hutch was still complaining about being made to stay, reminding Starsky that he had once escaped from hospital with a gunshot injury, until finally Starsky agreed that they should leave, just to get some quiet. He left the room to find a nurse to see if Hutch could leave, insisting they were going to do things properly and that they were not going to escape without permission. The nurse found the doctor, who finally agreed that they could go if Hutch took it easy. Starsky promised to see to that, and they began to get ready.

As Starsky gathered up Hutch's things for him, he said amusedly, "There, isn't that better than escaping?"

"If you say so."

"I do say so." Starsky grinned and held out his hand to Hutch, who took it and gingerly got off the bed, staggering slightly as he made it to his feet. He got dressed and they made their exit, heading out to the car.

Starsky drove Hutch home, in between giving him sideways glances. Starsky had been quiet all morning and something was clearly bothering him. Hutch could tell an apology was about to come his way. He was right. Starsky appeared to make a decision, and opened his mouth.

"All this," he waved in the direction of Hutch's injuries, "it shouldn't have happened, Hutch. I'm sorry."

Hutch sighed. "It doesn't matter. It wasn't your fault, it was a risky case and we knew it."

"Well if I hadn't got out of the car and left, while you were in there, I might have been able to do something sooner."

Hutch got an evil look in his eyes. "How sorry are you?"

"Really sorry."

"Sorry enough for a trip to Pine Lake this weekend? I'm sure we could borrow the cabin again." Hutch put on his cutest face and looked at Starsky hopefully.

Starsky considered it for a minute.

Hutch knew his partner's misgivings about Pine Lake and its associated spiders, snakes and weirdoes, but he figured it wouldn't hurt to try. He was extremely surprised when Starsky eventually replied, without enthusiasm, "Yeah, I guess so."

_Well, I didn't expect that, but I'm not gonna pass up a good opportunity_, thought Hutch. He grinned at Starsky. "Aw, really?"

"Yeah," replied Starsky, trying to sound more enthusiastic this time, while thinking, _Damn,_ _he knows I can't refuse him when he uses that face._

Hutch looked confused for a moment, then shook it off. If he'd actually managed to get Starsky to agree to going outdoors, he wasn't going to say anything that might cause him to change his mind. He realised he'd never asked Starsky _why_ he'd left the car, just before the bad guys had taken him off. "Where did you go, anyway?"

"Huh? Oh," Starsky worked out what he meant, and looked embarrassed. "I went to get coffee. I didn't even want it, I just wanted to get out of that car. That Johnson guy has _no _conversation skill whatsoever."

"Huh. I figured it'd be something to do with your stomach."

"Hey! You carry on and you'll be talking yourself out of a trip."

Hutch judged it best to be quiet.

TBC - One more chapter to come guys, and thanks for the nice reviews so far!


	9. Epilogue

They were able to borrow the cabin, and that Friday morning, Starsky was loading the car while insisting that Hutch take it easy and not do any work. Hutch wasn't going to argue with that – he'd had a few days to recover but not everything was healed yet - so he stood back watching as Starsky tried to find a place for Hutch's guitar on the almost-full backseat, and wondering if Starsky would prefer it if he did help to load the car. It was much more amusing to watch though, as Starsky shoved things around in an attempt to make more room.

They had spent those last few days discussing every detail of the case together, and were just beginning to come to terms with everything that had happened. They both agreed that they deserved a break after all that, although Starsky wasn't as happy as he could have been with the choice of destination. Hutch felt slightly mean for guilting Starsky into coming on this trip, but only slightly - how else was he going to get his own way? And he'd made sure that Starsky knew he wasn't really to blame for recent events.

"We should have gone in my car. You'd fit more stuff in it," Hutch pointed out.

"Yeah, maybe if you emptied all that junk out of your backseat, and I'm not expecting that to happen anytime soon."

"You could clear it for me."

"Why would I wanna do that? It's a health hazard. Anyway, I can't be seen driving that thing."

"Starsk, you do know we're only going for three days, right? Two and a half, really," Hutch teased, wondering what his friend had in his giant bag.

"Ha ha," he answered sarcastically, as he finally managed to wedge the guitar in. "I wanted to be prepared."

"Gee, are you sure you remembered everything?"

Starsky had insisted that they take as many of their own food supplies as they could this time, so that they had to spend less time in the town. When Hutch had questioned that, Starsky had responded that the more time they were in the town, the more likely it was that someone would commit a crime for them to solve.

"Yeah, I think so," Starsky answered Hutch's question, either not hearing the sarcasm or choosing to ignore it. "Do you want to check if there's anything left inside?"

Hutch obediently went back into the apartment and peered around, not seeing anything else waiting to be put into the car. "Yeah, Starsk, I think you got it all," he called back.

"Okay. Let's get going."

Hutch obediently came back to the car, where Starsky opened the passenger door for him with a mock-courteous gesture, and got in, watching in amusement as Starsky tossed some items off the driver's seat before he could get in.

***

Starsky had resolved not to complain on the car journey, although he didn't know if he could keep that up once they got to their destination, and so he restricted his conversation to almost-sensible topics. Hutch was touched by his effort; he knew Starsky couldn't be that happy about this trip.

Starsky was slightly concerned, given their record with these trips, but he was genuinely sorry that Hutch had had to go through everything he had, and was willing to take him if that would help to cheer him up after the ordeal.

They arrived that afternoon, having stopped a couple of times on the way so Starsky could buy snacks. Hutch had further entertainment watching Starsky wrestle all the items he had brought _out _of the car, until he took pity on his partner and helped to move some of the smaller stuff, despite Starsky's protests that he had it under control.

With that done, Starsky sent Hutch to "go and enjoy the nature", as he put it, while he searched for the food supplies he had brought.

Several minutes, and some muffled grumbling later, and Starsky called out "Uh, Hutch? I think we might have to go into the town after all."

Hutch grinned. "Did you forget something?" he asked innocently.

"Maybe," was the answer.

"Well, looks like you're gonna have to go to the store."

"But I'm starved!" Starsky whined.

"See if there's anything been left in the kitchen," Hutch advised.

***

Hutch sat outside the cabin while Starsky rummaged around in the kitchen. At the moment he had his eye on a squirrel that sat on a low branch of a nearby tree. After some of their previous camping trips, he didn't trust wildlife so much any more. Starsky emerged from the kitchen cupboards long enough to call to Hutch, "All that's in here is peanut butter and instant custard!"

"Fine," Hutch answered.

"I take it that doesn't mean you want the custard on your sandwich? Then again, with your eating habits..."

Hutch ignored Starsky, concentrating on the local wildlife again. A few minutes later, Starsky emerged from the cabin with their uninteresting lunch. "I can't believe we forgot the supplies!" he told Hutch.

"You mean _you _forgot the supplies. You said you'd put them in the car, Starsk."

"I thought I had. You should have checked."

"I did check! How was I meant to know you left them in your bedroom?"

"You could have looked in there. That means, when we go to the store later, I get to choose the food." Starsky nodded decisively.

Hutch wondered what obscure Starsky-logic had caused him to come to that conclusion. "No you don't. I trusted you to pack properly and look where that got us."

Starsky put on a fake pout. "Aw, you don't trust me?"

"Not where food is concerned."

"I remembered the bread, and the beer. If I'd remembered the snacks, we'd have all the important stuff."

"Well then where is the beer?"

Starsky sighed dramatically. "It's inside. You don't think I'd forget that do you? Why d'you think my bag was so heavy?" he grinned and disappeared inside again.

***

"I'm watching you," Hutch told the squirrel, giving it the Hutchinson warning finger. The animal ignored him completely, ran down a nearby branch, and snagged the remainder of his sandwich which he'd left on the table, running back to the safety of the tree. Hutch glared at it. The thing obviously wasn't afraid of humans though.

Starsky came out of the cabin again. "Who were you talking to?"

"Damn squirrel."

Starsky looked around, "What squirrel?"

"He took my sandwich."

"He did... you sure you didn't just eat it yourself?"

Hutch gave him an annoyed look. "Yes, I'm sure!"

"Okay, I believe you!" Starsky held up his hands in self defence. Starsky thought for a moment, then said casually, "Well, if he did eat it, that's your own fault."

"How do you figure that out?" asked Hutch in annoyance.

"Squirrels like peanut butter. You should have had the custard." Starsky tried hard to keep a straight face, but it wasn't easy while watching the look on Hutch's face.

He was treated to a Hutchinson Warning Finger of his own, which only made him more amused, until he took pity on Hutch and suggested that it was time to go and buy food. Starsky insisted that Hutch go to the store with him. "If I leave you here with all this wildlife, who knows what might happen? Can't have you getting into trouble again," he asked, mock-serious.

"Oh, I'm not staying here. If I leave it to you to get food, you'll come back with popcorn and pizza and nothing else."

"Hey, I would have brought you back a carrot. But when we get there, we gotta make it fast. In and out before anyone can commit a crime or do anything weird. These are our days off."

"Okay, buddy, whatever you say," Hutch told him, amused.

Starsky nodded, satisfied, and pulled Hutch to his feet. "Come on then."

***

Safely back at the cabin later that day, with Hutch safe, new food supplies, and without having met any weird people in the town, the pairr were relaxing, and Starsky was almost content, but he was still thinking about the case.

"Hutch? Do you think we could ever become like that guy?"

Hutch knew who he meant. He had been thinking about the same thing. He had already come to the conclusion that he and Starsky would be able to save each other from ending up crazy, or corrupt, or anything of the sort, as long as they had each other, and if they were in trouble, they should be able to help each other. He tried to think how to phrase this to Starsky without sounding overly sentimental. He had been disillusioned with the force himself at one time, but Starsky had been with him then, and they were still here. Starsky was looking at him expectantly, and he made himself come up with an answer.

"I don't think so. He didn't have a 'me and thee' system."

Starsky picked up on Hutch's meaning and gave a small smile, happy with the answer. "That's right, he didn't."

"So, do you think you're going to like this trip?" Hutch asked, changing the subject.

"Well, nothing's gone wrong yet. But I told you before, we shouldn't tempt fate." Hearing a sound, Starsky sat up suddenly from where he had been lounging. "What was that? It's not a rattlesnake is it?"

"I don't know. I told you there were no rattlesnakes here, but I suppose there could be." Hutch smirked, hiding the pack of peanuts he held at his side.

The End - Thanks for reading, and thanks so much again for the reviews!


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